Hehe, you guys are going to give me an inflated ego!
The Bard's Tale was my first CRPG, and I remember thinking back then that there was just something different and wonderfully cool about the genre. I hadn't ever played D&D or know anything about the rules, but I was eventually able to learn how to play it. I never got very far into the game, even after buying a boxed copy so I at last had the manual. It wasn't due to lack of interest--but it was extremely difficult for a noob. I remember getting a pirated copy of BTII with a saved party of super high-level characters and just roaming all around killing things with them. Even that was fun for me as a kid.
My interest led me on to try Pool of Radiance, and after that I was hooked for life.